48 Years After: A Sasuke & Sakura Story
by euphemia's maiden
Summary: Sakura waited at the same spot on her balcony every night for someone she knew a very long time ago. He stayed exactly the same way she remembered him, and yet she was more different than ever before. how will love ever find a way? R


**so this is a story dedicated to sasuke and sakura. mostly in the views of sakura as an old woman in her sixties. please read and review. any suggestions or requests of stories would be greatly apprectiated : )**

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Her antique chair rocked back and forth, squeaking roughly against the hard wood floor. During the evenings, at exactly 6:00 PM she would sit herself down in her rocking chair, on the balcony, overlooking the grand ocean. It was at this particular spot where she would watch serenely, how the sun would glisten like thousands of twinkling stars against the vast blue ocean as it sets. Sakura was old and quite frankly, she was tired. Her days as Kunoichi was long finished and she lived out her life with happiness that could be seen without much effort by the deceived eyes. However, the smile that she wore so proudly each day hides a much darker side to her soul. The part of her soul that held remorse; sadness; lust. Deep within her false façade lies a bitterness intensified by her undying devotion. Devotion to waiting for something-or rather someone, who will never be able to fulfill her longing desires.

_Sixty-three and not a year older, _she solemnly thought to herself. Sakura glared down to her once smooth and youthful hands. Her hands that were once able to, in a blink of an eye, perform hand signs and strike down enemies with the swiftness of a pouncing feline, are now stiff, wrinkly, and old. Old age was not what bothered her. No. It was something much more intricate than the passing of years. What Sakura wanted most of all was to be able to age with the person that she held most dearly to her heart. The person that she has been waiting forty-eight years for in the hopes of finally meeting once again. The chances of him returning to the place where their ancestors lived and eventually rested are unlikely. Sakura knew this all too well, but she did not want to admit what she was afraid of most. She did not want to loose faith in fear that once she did, she would not be able to regain the small piece of hope that she had left.

Rocking steadily on her chair, she clasped her hands together on her lap and continued the routine that she performed every evening. The last emanating light of the sun faded as it sank beneath the horizon and it became night. The chair ceased to rock, and Sakura struggled to stand up against the will of her trembling legs. Once again, the result of her wait was unsatisfying. She slowly walked to her bedroom just beyond the doors to the balcony and sat down atop her cool satin sheets. On her nightstand rested a picture frame that contained a photograph of four people: an overly-excited blonde spiky haired boy, a pretty pink haired girl, a disgruntled raven haired boy, and an older man with his headband covering one eye. She held this picture and gazed at it with an intense look of nostalgia in her eyes. She was longing for the past and whatever contentment it once produced.

She placed the frame gently back down on her stand and resumed her nightly routines. Pulling the sheets down from her bed she slid under and rested her head on the firm pillow. Before she drifted off into once again, a dreamless sleep, Sakura heard a small thud of a noise coming from her balcony. She was old, and defending herself from any type of burglar or thief was simply out of the question. She wasn't afraid because her worst fears already came true long ago. Losing the one she loved. Heading towards the place once again, she opened to doors to the balcony. What she saw next she would have never expected to see again in her entire lifetime. Sasuke stood against the railing of the balcony and watched her with emotionless eyes. The eyes that had seen and caused so much pain and suffering. How unlikely that when Sakura least expected it, Sasuke appeared as if to scare away whatever life was left in the woman.

Sakura's eyes remained fixed on the lonely figure. He was unchanged and kept exactly the same way she last saw him. His raven black hair and loosely fitted samurai style robes looked the same as it did forty- eight years ago. The only difference in his youthful face was that it embraced a new look of forgiveness. A gentleness that he failed to retain so many years before. She turned her head. Unlike him, the years caused drastic change to her physique. Her once exuberant pink hair was now white and tied up in well kept bun. Her provocative clothing style is now exchanged for a more conservative loose dress. Sakura was embarrassed that such a handsome boy had to see her again in a form that he could never recognize. She wanted the image of how she was in her youthful days to be implanted into his memories forever, not the image of an old woman late in her years. It was too late for that. Time continued to move on non the less and Sakura didn't want the little time they had to fade away. She glanced back up at him and spoke softy through her raspy voice.

"Sasuke-kun, how long I've waited for you."

He approached her and she kept still. He raised his hand and she did not flinch. Sasuke caressed his hands on her cheek and thought of how the years have done so much damage to her soft fair skin and her gentle beauty. He couldn't help but regret how he was never able to caress her like this when she was the Sakura that he knew.

"my, oh my, Sakura. How have the years aged you."

"And how the years have not aged you, Sasuke." she retaliated

"This power refuses to let me age. It is not a gift, but a mere curse."

She wanted to tell him her feelings and everything that she was never able to say so long ago, but she was afraid. Afraid that she did not know how to express everything that she felt inside into words. Sasuke was here, and she knew it was not a dream and yet, she felt as if she had entered a dream world that consisted of only her and Sasuke. She felt her body growing younger and the strength of her youthful days returning with his touch. It was as if magic was in the tip of his fingers. Sakura knew what she had to say. She closed her eyes and spoke in a smooth and gentle tone.

"Sasuke, I've never found the words to say how much I loved you. I never had the strength to keep you back in this village. I never found it in my heart to forgive myself for letting you leave. But now I want to say that I've found the wisdom to tell you to cross this bridge of life with me."

She held onto his hand that rested against her cheek. Although she couldn't see him in plain sight, she felt that he was smiling. She felt the warmth of his eyes glaring down at her and felt more beautiful then ever before.

"I'm done sakura. Im ready to rest now."

Sakura opened her eyes and what she saw were tears flowing down the face that held so much sadness and happiness at the same time. In his eyes she saw her own reflection. Someone that she recognized once again in only pictures and memories. Her silky pink hair rested neatly on her shoulders and her kunoichi clothes fit her body like a snug glove. She was herself again and she didn't question why. The dream world that she dreamt of being in became a reality that was only made possible by the moment that she shared. Perhaps, this was what people saw in their last moments of life. The one thing that they want more than anything else in the world.

"Will you take me their Sasuke? To the place where we could be together and be happy?" she asked him with warming eyes.

He nodded his head and lead her towards the edge of the balcony and stepped on top of the railing. She obediently followed him and they gracefully walked off into the infinite beyond. They were suspended on magnificent silver wings. Wings that only an angel could have. An angel that Sakura loved with all her being.

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.

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_Was it just a dream..?_

_._

_._

_._

A young boy entered the room of Sakura Haruno. He had bright blonde hair and wore an orange T-shirt.

"auntie sakura! I've come to pay you a visit."

He looked around and wondered why she did not answer. Upon entering her bedroom, she saw the doors to the balcony opened. Walking towards the peculiar scene he saw two things resting on the seat of Sakura's rocking chair: a picture frame with 4 shinobi as the center focus. One that he sees ever so often in his father's bedroom. Another item that he saw was something quite strange. A single white feather intertwined with a strand of pink hair.

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_Sasuke and Sakura saw in their eyes, a happiness that no man can ever dream of, and yet it wasn't a dream at all._

_She found her angel at last._

_  


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**thanks for reading : ) they both were able to settle down in the end. so basically you can say that sakura died. sasuke can either be real or an entity of sakura's imagination. you can decide which one you like better ! ahah PLEASE READ AND REVIEW and send me a request or suggestion through the reviews if you have any favors : ) thanks !**_


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